Key Takeaways

• According to the officially released biography of Kim Jong Il, he was born in a secret camp located in the legendary and sacred Badeku mountains. The key point here is being born in the sacred Badeku mountains signifying that Kim Jong II was a natural heir to the sacred line of Badeku. This imaginative piece made also aided a public perception of the supreme leader as an incarnation of revolution.
• The Korean state-controlled media also claimed that Kim Jong Un, along with some researchers, has also created a wonder drug that could possibly cure AIDS, Ebola, and some cancers along with other diseases in just one injection. Independent reported this as the latest proclamation from the Korean news agencies.
• As per Korean media reports, Kim Jong Un holds mystical powers that allow him to control the surrounding weather. The incident from where this rumor originated is when the Korean leader went on a leisure hiking trip to Mount Paektu. The state-controlled Central News Agency reported that the 2,700-meter mount Paektu is normally covered in snow and always has extreme snowy conditions, but when the leader himself visited the mountain and reached the top, the mountain, according to KCNA reports, showed fine weather conditions and depicted a “marvelous scene with glee at the reappearance of its great master.” KCNA also regarded Kim as the man who controls nature.
• According to Pyongyang media, when Kim Jong Il first played Golf at North Korea's only golf course, he shot "a 38-under par round, including 11 holes-in-one." This was the first, and the last time that the leader played golf; legend has it that after setting up this terrific record in the history of golf, Kim retired from the sport. Also, this was not something that happened at midnight with no spectators; reports suggest that 17 bodyguards were witnesses to this historic event.
• One of the officially debunked myths from the Korean state is the myth about Kim Il-sung possessing mystical teleportation powers; the myth was that the North Korean leader mattered the technique of "chukjibeop," which allowed him to teleport by folding space, and these powers enabled him to lead guerrilla forces to victory.

Introduction

Incarnation and The Badeku Mountain Myths

• According to the officially released biography of Kim Jong Il, and as legend has it, he was born in a secret camp located in the legendary and sacred Badeku mountains. The key point here is being born in the sacred Badeku mountains signifying that Kim Jong II was a natural heir to the sacred line of Baekdu. This imaginative piece made also aided a public perception of the supreme leader as an incarnation of revolution.
• The unnamed biographer of Kim Jong II added additional context to this myth, the deep-rooted nationalism in the former leader's genes, implying that he emerged from a line of great patriots and nationalists. Researchers believe that this was done with the intent to make a more strong and more appealing picture of the legendary leader.  
• The biography also pictured Kim Jong Il as the heaven-sent who was born to bring revolution and to become the general whose sole purpose was to free Korea. However, an article published by CBS, highlighted that the myth of the leader being born in the Badeku Mountains is somehow a historical error since official Soviet records reveal that Kim was born in the Siberian village of Vyatskoye in 1941.
• February 16 is still celebrated as the "Day of the Shining Star" in North Korea, commemorating the legendary leader's birth.

Golf Star

• According to Pyongyang media, when Kim Jong Il first played Golf at North Korea's only golf course, he shot "a 38-under par round, including 11 holes-in-one." This was the first, and the last time that the leader played golf; legend has it that after setting up this terrific record in the history of golf, Kim retired from the sport. Also, this was not something that happened at midnight with no spectators; reports suggest that 17 bodyguards were witnesses to this historic event.
• This event was reported by the media and is still regarded as propaganda of the Korean State to project their leader as a sports god who achieved the impossible on his first try.
• Since this was so unbelievable, reporters from all over the world tried to gain more details about this incident; mainly, everyone just wanted to meet someone who had actually witnessed this miracle, which is why reporters interviewed the locals in North Korea, but none knew about this incident.
• Some global news sources like Mirror highlight this as a scoring error. However, it is still regarded as one of the many propaganda claims of the Korean state. 

King Jong Un can Control Weather

• According to Korean media reports, Kim Jong Un holds mystical powers that allow him to control the surrounding weather. The incident from where this rumor originated is when the Korean leader went on a leisure hiking trip to Mount Paektu. The state-controlled Central News Agency reported that the 2,700-meter mount Paektu is normally covered in snow and always has extreme snowy conditions, but when the leader himself visited the mountain and reached the top, the mountain, according to KCNA reports, showed fine weather conditions and depicted a “marvelous scene with glee at the reappearance of its great master.” KCNA also regarded Kim as the man who controls nature.

 

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• Popular American news sources like USA Today not only regarded this as propaganda of the state-controlled media but also made a mockery out of the incident.

Kim Jong Un & The Wonder Drug

• The Korean state-controlled media also claimed that Kim Jong Un, along with some researchers, has also created a wonder drug that could possibly cure AIDS, Ebola, and some cancers along with other diseases in just one injection. Independent reported this as the latest proclamation from the Korean news agencies.
• The wonder drug not only cures diseases but also renders its users anti-radioactive.  
• Media sources like Express have regarded this as another North Korean propaganda claim. 
• These outlandish claims aren't supported by any details on what the drug can actually do. For instance, they say it can cure some cancers, but they are numb on which cancers it can cure.  

Kim's Family Had Teleportation Powers

• One of the officially debunked myths from the Korean state is the myth about Kim Il-sung possessing mystical teleportation powers. The myth was that the North Korean leader mastered the technique of "chukjibeop," which allowed him to teleport by folding space, and these powers enabled him to lead guerrilla forces to victory.
• Recently released news statements denied the myth and clearly stated that such powers are unrealistic and the Kim family does not possess them.  
•  Experts believe that this debunking was done so that people could keep believing in the other not so hard to believe myths about the Kim family.

Other Myths

• The "state-controlled Korean Central News Agency" or KCNA has been a part of many such propagandas including;
• Kim Jong Un was able to drive at the age of three.  
• He became a master sailor by the age of nine. 
• North Korean archaeologists and Kim Jong Un found a "Unicorn Lair," for people who don't believe that they did, the state has added a rectangle-shaped rock at the site that boldly reads "Unicorn Lair."
• State news agencies say Kim Jong-il was able to walk when he was three months old. 

Research Strategy

Key Takeaways

• Per the insights from BorgenProject and the Washington Post, learning about the Kim family starts from kindergarten, lasts till high school, and even goes beyond that. Unlike North Korea, American kindergartens do not have a history subject.  
•  High schoolers in North Korea are required to learn a mandatory subject called the history of revolution, which provides in-depth learning about Kim's family. While history is taught in American schools, children in the later stages of their academic careers learn history as a subject; however, North Korean students are mandated to learn about the Kim family in the name of national history. American history is mainly taught to high schoolers and upper grades.  
• A report published by the UN Commission of Inquiry revealed that the North Korean education policy has two main objectives; to plant utmost loyalty and dedication toward North Korean leaders and to plant hate toward certain countries such as South Korea, Japan, and United States.  

• In North Korea, all schools follow the same curriculum and are required to follow the same syllabus, especially involving subjects concerning the Kim family; however, the US education system is decentralized; US states are free to decide independently what they want to teach.

Introduction

Elementary Learning Differs from the US

• Per the insights from BorgenProject and the Washington Post, learning about the Kim family starts from kindergarten, lasts till high school, and even goes beyond that. Unlike North Korea, American kindergartens do not have a history subject.  
•  One hundred seventy-one hours are mandated learning hours at the preschool level to teach students about leader Kim Jong-un’s childhood.

 

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• The North Korean Education Committee's plan features a compulsory education outline under which the history of Kim Jong Un is taught as a compulsory subject. More focus on teaching about leaders from the very start makes elementary school students disadvantaged since their foundation is not strong enough, and their lack of knowledge about core topics like the alphabet makes it more difficult for students to excel in the next stages of education.

Mandatory Classes and Decided Number of Learning Hours to Learn about the Kim Family

•  The state criteria allotted mandatory hours for elementary and high schools to learn about the Kim family. These are divided as under:
• Elementary schools: 171 hours of learning about the early childhood of Kim Jong Un 
•  171 hours each learning about Kim Jong il and Kim II-Sung 
•  34 hours learning about Kim Jong-Suk 
•  684 total hours of learning about the Kim family 
•  High schoolers are required to learn a mandatory subject called the history of revolution, which provides in-depth learning about Kim's family. While history is taught in American schools, children in the later stages of their academic careers learn history as a subject; however, North Korean students are mandated to learn about the Kim family in the name of national history. American history is mainly taught to high schoolers and upper grades. More hours spent on Kim's family-related subjects make it more stressful for both parents and students since they lack basic knowledge of core subjects.

Educational Objectives Vastly Differ

• A report published by the UN Commission of Inquiry revealed that the North Korean education policy has two main objectives; to plant utmost loyalty and dedication toward North Korean leaders and to plant hate toward certain countries such as South Korea, Japan, and United States.  
• While the American education system is focused on instilling patriotic values and the feeling of nationalism in students, it is certainly not circled around a particular historical, political or national figure.

Centralized versus Decentralized Educational System

• In North Korea, all schools follow the same curriculum and are required to follow the same syllabus, especially involving subjects concerning the Kim family. However, the US education system is decentralized; US states are free to decide independently what they want to teach.
• The amount of information that needs to be shared with the students is completely decided by the North Korean government, and the academic material offered by the government is highly censored and covers all aspects; in contrast, censorship in American schools is largely focused on religious and social issues.
• In North Korea, such severe censorship could lead to biased opinions and a lack of world knowledge among students. For the most part, the names of the writers and other biographical information of authors are not shared with students in North Korea, which is not the case in American schools. States in the US celebrate authors and their origins and orientations.  

Research Strategy